Method of preparing tubing for transportation



Oct. 16, 1945.

I. D. THORNBURGH METHOD OF PREPARING TUBING FOR TRANSPORTATION FiledDec. 3, 1943 IN.VENTOR. I r 4.. 12M Z flwflzmhz mama;

Patented Oct. 16, 1945 METHOD OF PREPARING TUBING FOR TRANSPORTATIONIvan D. Thornburgh, Leonia, N. J., assignor to American Can Company, NewYork, N. Y., a corporation of New Jersey Application December 3, 1943,Serial -No. 512,829

2 Claims. (01. 1532) The present invention relates to the manufacture ofcontainers or cans from seamless or seamed tubing and has particularreference to flattening relatively thin walled tubing and winding it ona spool with a spacer tape interposed between the layers of tubing sothat crushing of the edges of the tubing will be prevented when theloaded spool is shipped and stored as an incident to the manufacture ofsuch cans.

Some attention has been given to the manufacture of metal cans from flatwebs or strips by first providing endless tubes of the desired diameterand with the necessary longitudinal seam and afterwards cutting intocontainer lengths. This has not been a success. The operation of formingthe required extended seam and the further operation of cutting off theproper lengths as at present practiced appear to be operations somewhatforeign to can manufacture. The forming of seamless or prefabricatedseamed tubing primarily is better adapted to the tube manufacturer.

Cans have not been manufactured commercially from seamless orprefabricated seamed tubing made in the tube manufacturers plant becauseof the difliculty of handling and transporting tubes of suflicientlength to make it worth while for a can manufacturer to use such tubing.Tubes of short length, for example, will not suflice to keep automaticcan making machinery operating at efficiency.

Again, it often is desirable to have relatively thin walled contains andhere particularly the shipping of short length tubing stock is notpractical since such thin walls do not offer suflicient resistance tothe wear and tear of handling.

In some cases and for some materials the present inventor has found thatthe flattening of tubing into a ribbon as fully set forth in anapplication, Serial No. 512,828, filed simultaneously and concurrentlywith the present application and the winding of the flattened stock ontospools of great length and in a compact coil has resulted in undulycreasing the outer edges of the ribbon too sharply so that subsequentcan manufacture is difiicult. The present invention is directed toavoiding this undue'creasing difficulty as will be more clearly seen asthe description proceeds.

The instant invention contemplates a novel method of manufacturing thiswalled can made from seamless or seamed tubing fabricated at a tubemanufacturer's plant, for example, wherein the actual manufacture of thecan is made at another place such as a can manufacturing establishment,provision being made for'interposing a spacer tape between the layers ofcoiled tubing to prevent sharp creasing of side edges of the tubing andto provide for safety and efficiency in transporting the thin walledtube stock over considerable distances, if necessary.

An object of the invention is the provision of a method of preparingseamless or seamed tubing for transportation and handling as an incidentto the manufacture of cans wherein the tubing is flattened into a ribbonand reeled onto spools with a spacer tape interposed between the layersof tubing on the spools so that crushing of the edges'of the tubing willbe prevented.

Another obj ect is the provision of such a method wherein the tubing isflattened into a double wall ribbon with middle portions of oppositewalls of the ribbon contiguous or nearly so, leaving hollow fully curvedside edges free from sharp creases and reeling the ribbon of tubing intoa compact coil for shipment and storagewith a spacer tape of awidth-narrower than the width'of the ribbon of tubing and thicker thanits hollow side edges, this tape being interposed between the coiledlayers of the tubing so'that the outer hollow edges of the tubingwill'not be creased.

Numerous other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparentaS it is better understood from the following description, which, takenin connection with the accompanying drawing, discloses a preferredembodiment thereof.

Referring to the drawing;

Figure 1 is a side elevation of principal parts of an apparatus forcarrying out the steps of the instant method invention, the view'showinga tube being flattened and reeled into a coil with a spacer beinginterposed between the layers of the coil, with parts broken away;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged section taken substantially along the line 2-2 inFig. l; and Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken substantially along theline 33 in Fig. 1, withparts broken away. i

As a preferred embodiment of the instant invention, the drawingdiscloses a method of preparing long lengths of tubing madeof relativelybendable materials such as aluminum or the like for shipment and storageand in a manner which protects the edges of the tubing against crushingor creasing. In such a method-the tubing to be transported is firstflattened into a double wall ribbon having the middle portions oftheopposite walls contiguous. This manner. of. forming the ribbon leaveshollow curved side edges of greater thickness. These larger,- open edgesmust not be creased and the present invention is concerned withovercoming this difiiculty.

After such a flattening or ribbon forming operation, the flattened tubeisreeled into a more or less compact coil. While the tube is thus beingreeled, a spacer tape is simultaneously fed into position between thelayers of ribbon in the coil. This spacer may be of any suitableflexible material such as canvas or the like and may be used only onceor may be returnable for re-use as the casemay be.

The spacer tape preferably is of a width narrower than the width of theribbon of tubing so that it will engage against only the middleflattened portions of the ribbon. The thickness of the spacer tapeshould be of a dimension greater than or at least equal to the distancethe hollow curved side edges of-the ribbon extend beyond the centralpart as clearly shown in Fig. 2 of the drawing.

Hence as the flattened tube ribbon and-the spacer tape aresimultaneously reeled into a coil, the tape becomes interposed betweenthe layers of ribbon in the coil, in a manner which keeps the hollowcurved side edges of the ribbon separated and protected againstcreasingor other deforma tion.

Where the tubing is made with a relatively thin wall and is manufacturedfrom soft, easily deformed material, such as aluminum, this method ofpreparing the tubing insures its protection during transportation andhandling.

The principal parts of one form of apparatus for carrying out the methodsteps of the invention are illustrated in the drawing. In this apparatusa substantially continuous cylindrical tube A (Fig. 1) is advanced alonga horizontal straight line path of travel and is reduced to a flatteneddouble walled ribbon B while it advances.

Advancing and flattening of the tube A is effected preferably by a pairof combination feeding and flattening rollers ll, [2 (Figs. 1 and 3)which are arranged in a horizontal position, one above the other andbetween which the tube passes. These rollers are mounted on shafts l3J'ournaled in bearings I4 formed in brackets l5 bolted to a frame [6which constitutes the main frame of the apparatus. The rollers arerotated in unison in any suitable manner.

The upper f eding and flattening roller l l preferably is wider than thewidth of the resulting flattened tube so that it will engage the tubealong its full width. The lower roller 12 is narrower than the width ofthe resulting flattened tube as best shown in Fig. 3 so that during theflattening operation it will engage only the middle portions of theresulting flattened tube.

Hence as the tube A passes between the rollers, it is simultaneouslyadvanced and flattened into the double wall ribbon B, the lower roller12 pressing the opposite walls of the middle portions into contiguousrelation and leaving side edges 0 which are hollow and curved as bestshown in Fig. 2. It should be understood that in first starting a newtube through the apparatus, the leading end will need to be initiallyflattened in a suitable manner so that the rollers will grip the tube.However, after the tube is once started the rollers will feed it throughas long as there is any tube to be fed.

During the advancement of the tube A into the feeding and flatteningrollers ll, [2 it may be guided by a pair of concave guide rolls 2!(Fig. 1). The guide rolls are located one on each side of the path oftravel of the tube and are mounted on vertical idler studs 22 securedinto brackets 23 formed on the main frame l6.

As the ribbon B of tubing leaves the feeding and flattening rollers l I,[2 it is reeled into a coil D. This is brought about preferably bywinding the flattened tube onto a tube or ribbon spool 26. During thewinding operation the spool preferably is mounted ona shaft 21 the endsof which. are carried in U-shaped bearings 2 8 formed. in a stand orsubframe 29. The spool may be rotated on the shaft or the. shaft rotatedwith the spool in any suitable manner to efiect this winding orreelingoperation.

. The spacer tape, designated by the letter E, is taken from anauxiliary or tape spool 32 which is located adjacent the spool 26. Thisauxiliary spool is mounted on a shaft 33 carried in U-shaped bearings 34formed in the stand 29. When winding of the ribbon B of tubing on thetube spool 26 is begun, the free end of the spacer tape is insertedbetween the first layers of the tubing so that it will be grippedtightly. Thereafter as the tubing is wound onto the tube spool, thespacer tape is pulled by the rotation of the tube spool and is therebyunwound from the tape spool and is laid in place between the layers ofthe tube as the reeled tube builds up to form the coil D, as best shownin Fig. 1.

When a sufficientlength of the tube ribbon B has been wound onto thespool, the ribbon and the spacer tape may be cut on and the spoolremoved from the stand. The reeled length of tube is thus in .a more orless compact form, with its hollow curved side edges C- fully protectedby each layer of edging. In this condition it is safe for efficienttransportation and handling. Such a reeled tube unit may be shipped overlong distances as from the tube manufacturing plant to a can makingfactory or other establishment as an incident to the manufacture of cansor similar articles for which the tubing is to be used.

It is thought that the invention and. many of its attendant advantageswill be understood from the foregoing description, and it will beapparent that various changes may be made in the steps of the processdescribed and their order of accomplishment without departing from thespirit and scope of the invention or sacrificing all of its mate-rialadvantages-the process hereinbefore described being merely a preferredembodiment thereof.

I claim:

l. A method of preparing metallic tubing for transportation and handlingas an incident to the manufacture of metalcontainers, comprisingflattening the tubing to produce a double wall ribbon having hollowcurved side edges, reeling the flattened ribbon into a coil, andsimultaneously interposing between the layers of coiled ribbon a spacertape narrower than said ribbon so that the tape will be clear of theouter hollow edges of the ribbon to maintain its adjacent edges free ofeach other so that sharp creasing of the flattened tube edges will beprevented.

2. A method of preparing metallic tubing for transportation and handlingas an incident to the manufacture of metal containers, comprisingflattening the tubing intoa double wall ribbon with one face of thedouble wall straight in cross section and with the middle portions ofopposite walls of the ribbon contiguous to leave hollow curved sideedges curving away from said straight wall so that they will be freefrom sharp creases, reeling the flattened ribbon into a compact coil forshipment and storage, and simultaneously feeding into position betweenthe coiled iayers of the ribbon and between said hollow side edges aspacer tape of a width narrower than said ribbon and sufficiently thickto space apart the hollow edges of the ribbon radially to prevent sharpcreasing thereof.

IVAN D. THORNBURGH.

